


TDC Prompt Collection

by Madame_Tentacle



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: I just never know what I'm going to explore until I get there, I know I didn't use tags, Microstories, Multi, but most of these are harmless, each one is a stand alone, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:14:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 5,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26950477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madame_Tentacle/pseuds/Madame_Tentacle
Summary: ~Updates every Monday and Wednesday~As the title says, just a collection of assorted prompts relating to The Dark Crystal. These are all done in weekly write-ins with a bunch of server pals. They typically range from 100-200 words, give or take. I've got a lot stocked up so figured it was about time I start slowly but surely sharing them with the fandom!
Comments: 17
Kudos: 23





	1. Full Circle

Hidden from the rest of the world, deep within the shifting sands, shielded by the craggy rocks, only the suns' rays reached skekGra and urGoh. They shone through, starting on urGoh who dozed in the heat. As the day stretched, they'd beat at skekGra's back while he worked on the toolbench. They said little to each other in those early days until the suns set. Only then would they speak to bid each other good night. Through the moons' rising, they'd slumber, stirring once again when the suns came full circle on urGoh.


	2. Oblivion

Only through a hazy half-consciousness could skekGra and urGoh witness Thra's signs and omens. They would gorge on udrupe berries until they stepped into a new reality. Warriors in the form of hazy silhouettes fought against gnarled enemies. Their declarations jumbled as if they were underwater and overlapped one another. When skekGra and urGoh returned to their plane, they'd freeze. Neither could interpret their shared dream's meaning immediately. It'd take hours of theorizing and frenzied chatter, but they always came to a similar conclusion. One of hope.


	3. Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: I forgot to mark what this prompt was unlike the others so I'm just ??? at making up what the prompt PROBABLY was

Rian stood tall after his latest success in battle. The dwindling resistance looked to him for strength. No warrior fought with the same strength and ferocity as him. He cut through Garthim with ease and defended many settlements as he led his army through Thra. None knew how his joints began to ache and age slowed him outside of battle. Nonetheless, the surviving gelfling cheered for him. They sang their praises, but none so loud as Thra herself.


	4. "We're running out of time"

"We're running out of time," skekZok said as he looked upon a tapestry lining skekSo's chamber walls. It illustrated skeksis clawing out from urskek form, their rise to power, the gelfling extinction. skekSo sat on the throne in every image.

"Time until what?" skekSo wheezed as he spoke. He seldom rose from his plush bed, withering by the day.

skekZok eyed the suns that loomed over every scene in the tapestry. "Our undoing."

"Blasphemy." skekSo coughed into a handkerchief. "Skeksis rule is eternal. I am eternal." His chest rattled with every cough and strained his breath.


	5. Heart and Mind

skekEkt and skekAyuk lied atop the picnic blanket. They stared up at the sky, still blue and clear through the desolate land. Several fluffy white clouds rolled by, and skekAyuk and skekEkt took turns creating scenes based around them.

"That one looks like a roasted nebrie!" skekAyuk pointed out.

skekEkt gagged. "Is all you can think of your next meal? Do try to be a little more creative!"

"Then what do you see?"

skekEkt glanced aside at the smallest cloud. "A crystal lizard heart, the one the Scientist keeps in his lab."

skekAyuk sat up so he could gawk at skekEkt. "A crystal lizard heart? Why would you think of something so vile!?"

"Because the juices do wonders to bring the shine to my jewel polish!" skekEkt beamed. They raised an eyebrow when skekAyuk's jaw dropped. "What? Did you think I recognized it without purpose? That I simply liked something so macabre without paving way to beauty?" They laughed when skekAyuk failed to respond. "Oh, Gourmand! My silly Gourmand…" They reached up to hold skekAyuk's face. "You're always so amusing…"


	6. Wholeness

"And now for the first test." skekTek announced to his audience of captive creatures. They whined and beat against their cages, but their cries went unanswered as skekTek connected the artificial eye to the wires in his newly emptied socket. It sparked upon contact and skekTek flinched. He blinked several times and looked around. His artificial vision granted clarity his organic eye failed to, brighter colors, new details. He grinned. Finally, he was whole again.


	7. Last Sight

skekTek shrieked as the beetle pried his lids open. His fellow lords laughed over him, blurring into the shadows and distorted by the cage. The bug's eyes seemed to pop out of its head, threatening to burst as it neared skekTek's own. It snapped and nipped at his eye, teasing him before biting in. Its needle-sharp teeth were the last image skekTek remembered before he blacked out.


	8. Open Your Eyes

"Open your eyes..."

skekGra struggled to follow the request. His lids weighed heavy and his head ached. When he carried out the order, he looked into clouded eyes that matched his own.

"ur….Goh….where….?" He groaned and gripped at his head. Something metal and foreign marked the pain.

"We….must go…" urGoh pulled on skekGra's arm to help him rise, only for skekGra to fall against him.

"Go on without me….I can't….the pain..."

But urGoh lifted skekGra and draped him across his back. Slowly, he ambled, dragging his feet through the desert sands where the skeksis left skekGra to his banishment, stripped of his robes and prime pickings for the scavengers.

As urGoh wandered, skekGra opened his eyes once more, and watched the budding trail in urGoh's wake. "You mystics….always so slow…"

"Slow...but also...strong…"

skekGra could hear the smile in urGoh's voice. He couldn't help but do the same.


	9. Retreat

Rian ran to retreat as the garthim gathered. They had eliminated his strongest soldiers with their enormous pincers and feet filed to match the sharpest knives. Their shells shielded them from most attacks and the village would fall in their wake. Rian hurried the survivors up the hill but stopped when he heard a cry. It carried too high to match any beast of the wood and not alien enough for the garthim. When Rian turned to the source, his heart sank. 

A childling, too small to walk, sobbed in the midst of garthim closing in around her. They raised their claws and aimed to strike, but Rian rushed to meet them. He leapt before the childling and blocked the first attack. Sparks flew off his sword and the childling hugged his leg.

"I got you, little one." He cracked a smile as he dodged a swipe. When he ducked down, he snatched the childling and held her close. 

The garthim readied for another attack, but Rian moved too fast. He sprinted past them and up the hill where his fellow gefling cheered.


	10. First Steps

When the light faded from the crystal, skekSo took his first breath. Talons grew from once dull fingertips, his limbs had shriveled from their former size, and a beak replaced his mouth. The rest of his kin surrounded him, writhing in their new forms. Some shouted, others cried, and a few even laughed. Only skekSo held his tongue and rose to take his first step as skeksis.


	11. Celebration

The skeksis screeched in jubilation as skekUng entered. The garthim trailed behind him and dishes of essence covered the table after his latest raid of the gelfling settlements, but before any could consume, skekTek raised a jeweled goblet.

"Three cheers for the new General!" he called out.

"Here, here!" skekOk followed suit. "May the essence run freely evermore!"

Cheers and rapturous applause reverberated off the chamber walls. Wine spilt over as skeksis clicked their goblets together, laughing between delivering skekUng their commendations.

Only skekSil held his tongue as he glared at skekUng who stood tall in the lords' glowing praises.


	12. Tradition

As in all mornings past, skekZok rose with the suns. 

While the other skeksis slumbered past midday, he walked through the castle halls with burners and incense. He'd enter every room of the palace and let the incense seep through dressers, stools, and rugs, even upon the throne. None believed his claim that his daily practice fended off Thra's vengeful spirits. They mocked him, mimicking his stride with their beaks in the air and impersonating his deep baritone with grumbling mutters of "tradition" and "rituals". 

Nonetheless, skekZok continued his treks, gasping through steep staircases, sweating through his plated robes. By the time he blessed every chamber, he'd collapse to his knees. He'd lower his head as if in prayer, but none listened.


	13. Take it or Leave it

skekLach sat in a plush cushion, gifted by the Vaprans and surveyed the table of assorted treasures: Drenchen leathers, Spriton treats, and Dousan remedies. She counted and sorted each into separate piles, towering over her head and precariously perched. Then the door flew open.

"skekLach!" skekOk beamed. "You won't believe what I heard fr-" He cut short when he caught the piles. Shimmering jewels shone off his many glasses. "My word…" He leaned in to examine an enormous ruby. "You're not going to keep all of this for yourself, are you? It's far too much for one skeksis."

skekLach initially opened her beak to protest. Instead, she grinned. "Right you are." She picked up an uneven, crude necklace of shells from a Sifan sailor. "I don't need this." 

She dropped it in skekOk's claw and his jaw dropped. "What!? I've no need for this! It's so plain and unsightly!"

skekLach cackled lowly. "Take it or leave it."

"Hmmph, wretch!" skekOk stuck his beak in the air. Nonetheless, he held the necklace as he stormed out.


	14. Grand Scheme

skekUng loomed over the table map as he surveyed the garthim figures. Each represented a full troop, and he pushed them back and forth with the plotting rod. First to descend from the mountains and catch the gelfling by surprise, next to the rivers when he deemed the climb too treacherous, then in the forests for proper cover, only to push the figures away again. Too many trees would slow the onslaught. Finally, he eyed on the Drenchen swamps. Thanks to skekTek's modifications, the garthim could tread underwater, and skekUng nodded. A perfect place to spring a surprise attack on the rumored gelfling survivors.


	15. No One Knows

Aughra closed her eye and listened for Thra. She sang but not her usual, clear, soothing melody. Rather it was one of lamentation, hoarse from too many tears. "Why do you weep so?" Aughra asked when Thra settled into strained, haunting tunes.

'I miss my gelfling. They have not come home.'

Aughra snorted. "I do too, those little scoundrels…too quiet without them."

'Where are they now?'

Tears misted Aughra's eye. She took a deep breath and wiped tears that leaked through the empty socket. "No one knows."

Thra's weeping echoed through the canyon, floating through the sky, and shaking the ground Aughra sat upon. 

Aughra listened all the same.


	16. Heartless

skekSo curses the skeksis who call him heartless. They've no right when they do not know his burden, ache as he does, feel the darkening pumping through their veins. 

It coats his heart, slows it so it's like a heavy stone in the bottom of the river. It rattles against his chest with every breath now. Often, he wishes to rip the thing out and trample it beneath his feet until it's nothing but mush, but there it stays, plaguing him with nightmares, threatening to dip into his conscience. 

The stakes are too high for such foolish fancies. He must press forward as if the skeksis' claims are true.


	17. Oblivion (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I guess we got to the first of the few "repeat prompts" where it's the same prompt as before but a different take on it!

GraGoh took his first breath as one again. His initial instinct was to reach for his other half, to hold his hand, look into his eyes, smile and laugh, but there was only empty space. He frowned. The war had ended, his hearts beat as one, yet his hands felt so empty. He hunched over and wrapped his arms around himself. He heaved as if sobbing, but his eyes remained dry. Even as he prayed for oblivion, he could not cry.


	18. Discretion

Seladon sat at the table, back straight and head tall. The Sifan elders rambled through the past hour and she nodded at intervals to feign interest. Her eyelids weighed heavy and she yearned for her plush bed, but made no complaint. When she wanted to sigh, she breathed deeply. Slowly, she fell into a steady rhythm. 

In, out, in, out. 

Every morning she practiced her breathing exercises. They saved her from ill-timed sigh, and kept her mind active so as not to fade through incessant rambles. Even so, her eyes drifted to the window.

The capitol bustled, gelfling smiled and spun in the light snowfall. Seladon almost allowed herself to smile with them before returning her attention to the elders.

In, out, in, out.


	19. Surprise

The gelfling's victory surprised Aughra. Though not an impossibility, it was no more than a flicker in the winding paths ahead. Most ended in disaster, heartache, unspeakable tragedy, but today they celebrated. All clans came together as one, embracing and cheering as the skeksis fled. Aughra smiled, but Thra's song continued on. It sang the gelfling's praise, but a low note stood out. It droned beneath the sweeping melody, quietly, but ever present. When Aughra closed her eyes, her smile vanished. The note grew louder and louder, like a painful moan.


	20. Crown of Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In regards to this entry, I'm aware there's a continuity error as Seladon's skek crown was broken in the show. These prompts are done on a time crunch and very on the fly so I seldom check for reference before diving in. With that said, this is still one of my favorite entries and hope you all enjoy it! <3

skekEkt wailed as they threw on another layer of black lace. Another filmy veil, more onyx rings, ribbons, ruffles, and silks abounding. They drowned themself in black until they resembled a dark cloud rolling over Thra. 

For hours prior, skekEkt implored skekZok to reconsider the palette, but he insisted black the only suitable color for the period of mourning. To represent the darkest nights and pay penance for living on while their fellow lords perished.

Nonetheless, skekEkt gagged at their reflection. The black washed them out so they resembled a ghost above the neck and meticulous embroidery blended into the dark fabric. They tore off the veil and turned to their workshop, but stopped when something glinted from the top shelf. Not one of their many jewels and gems, but a jagged crown. They had taken it from the Vapran princess as a token of her pitiful pleas and kept it as a souvenir even when the skeksis insisted they discard it. 

Now skekEkt shuffled to the shelf and picked it up. It weighed too heavy for any gelfling, but rested perfectly on their talons. Slowly, they placed it atop their head and looked back to the mirror. They squealed. Its unevenness made a striking silhouette and transformed the design into something fearsome.

At last, they brought their beak high and strode into the halls, slowing so all could admire their ensemble.


	21. Lend a Hand

skekLi swayed down the hall as he toted an overabundance of instruments. A lute in one arm, an accordion under the other. A heavy drum strapped to his back, small cymbals dangled from his ankles, and a horn nestled in his secondary arms. They whined out of tune with every step, echoing down the hall. The throne room was still another three flights of stairs up and skekLi huffed.

Then, footsteps broke through. skekLi could not identify their owner past his load, but recognized the mumblings that accompanied.

"Aha, is that the slave-master I hear!" skekLi beamed.

"No!" skekNa snapped in a rasp no other skeksis possessed.

"No matter, could you lend me a hand? You see, the Emperor has requested a symphony and-"

skekNa jabbed his hook into the drum, puncturing a hole through it. "Here's to the performance of your career!" He continued down the hall, cackling while skekLi deflated.


	22. Cursed

skekZok holed himself away in the castle's basement. Since skekUng's slight, none had seen nor spoken to him. skekAyuk would knock on the door, bearing plates of leftovers, but received no answer. 

As the plates piled outside, skekZok deprived himself. For the ritual allowed no food nor sustenance in the week of preparation. Shuttered from all outside contact, he meditated until the week's end. Only then did he see to his collection of vials and concoctions. He took the tiniest of them and poured a single drop in a bottle of skekUng's favorite wine. skekZok grinned as it blended. 

For one drop was all it took to enact the greatest curse of his scripture.


	23. Running Wild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And another personal favorite of these prompts <3

For the first time in his life as one, skekMal ran free. No mystic to hold him back, no gelfling to tend to, and no skeksis squawking in his ears. They had cried when he attacked over dinner, but no more. Never again would their petty squabbles hinder him as none had the courage to make chase when he broke free.

Within minutes, he had left the castle grounds and entered the Endless Forest. Gnarled branches and thorny vines snagged at the ends of his robes, leaving a trail of finery behind him, but not once did he stop nor turn back. He tore through the woods, slicing low-hanging branches and leaping over boulders in his path. When he came to a tree too massive to fell, he scurried up it on all fours as a wild animal would. He climbed it easily and overlooked the canopy of the woods. 

Thra's wildlife dwelled below, their growls, barks, and hisses breaking through. Each represented a new challenge, an endless gallery to test his strength. Only the castle rose above the forest and skekMal spat in its direction before he unsheathed every blade and leapt back into the wilderness below.


	24. Castaway

A mighty typhoon blew skekSa's ship off course. The Sifan ports expected her the day prior but she now lied on the shore of an unfamiliar island. She had circled it twice over within an hour's time. It would amount to little more than a speck in skekOk's atlases, if she decided to report the finding.

For now, she laid on her back and watched the clouds roll by. They hardly counted as such, useless wisps that failed to block out the beating suns. 

She considered sitting up, rising to her feet to wrangle a few palm trees, start a fire, signal a passing Sifan ship. She could be free before the day was through, yet she continued to lie. Her vassa breathed heavily beside her, heaving like a beached whale and skekSa closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the suns had dipped beneath the horizon.


	25. Chosen One

Jen didn't ask to be chosen. He didn't ask to answer for his ancestor's war. He didn't ask to abandon the life he loved. Even if he succeeded, what good would it do? He was still the only one, a dying memory in Thra's song. Wouldn't it be best to die in peace, with the ones he loved, the life he knew, rather than chase a lost cause? 

Nonetheless, Jen pressed forward. He had been chosen all the same.


	26. Ordinary Life

Every morning, Jen rose with the first sun. He'd go to urAmaj and help prepare the morning meal. 

At the second sun, the mystics would rise and dine together. They ate slowly, wordlessly, but Jen always waited for each to have their fill before going to the river. There, he'd play his fica for the mystics as they attended their morning rituals. 

When the suns were highest, he'd go to urSu for his daily lessons. He'd learn how to listen to the wind, the stories within the soil, songs the stone. 

For the remainder of his day, he'd test urSu's wisdom in the valley, returning only when his stomach grumbled. He'd tell of his findings over dinner to any who would listen, usually urZah, who nodded his approval throughout.

Only then would Jen lie for sleep, until the first sun rose again and the process began anew.


	27. Neighbors

Deet's neighbors called upon her to help a nursing nurloc. The creature heaved and struggled after the difficult birth and would not answer her young's cries. They feared the creature would die, but Deet approached with a gentle smile and assurances.

"Hello, Murla!" She rubbed the nurloc's side which had swollen twofold. "How are you feeling?"

The nurloc moaned, rolling over.

"I understand. I have days where I don't want to get out of bed either." She offered a handful of glow moss mixed with herbs from her fathers' garden. The creature gobbled them up and Deet scratched the back of its head. "That's a good girl! Now do you think you can give your babies some milk? I know you're hurting but they could really use their mother right now…"

The nurloc let out a whine but crawled over to her crying children and allowed them to feed off her. Deet stayed until each had their fill.


	28. Stolen Things

When gelfling offerings proved too meager, skekShod took to rifling through the castle for trinkets and treasures. Perfumes from skekLach's stores, priceless parchment from skekOk's library, and shining jewels from skekEkt's workshop. He'd pilfer in small quantities at first, too paltry for any to make note, but as the days passed, complaints would travel through the halls. A missing sheet of paper, an earring missing its mate. Days further, the castle would be in an uproar. They'd throw their accusations at skekShod and bring their complaints to skekSo who always yawned. For his quarters always remained untouched.


	29. Finish

skekSo guzzled down the essence within moments. He breathed heavily and wiped his beak of every last drop. He then tossed the vial aside so he could grip skekTek's robes with both hands, pulling him forward. "Where is the rest!?" He hissed. No longer could he command his usual booming voice. "This meager helping is an insult to my station!"

"B-but, sire-" skekTek attempted to speak, but skekSo shook him.

"You dare question my will! I should have you punished for this!"

"I...I understand the Emperor is displeased, but-"

"Silence!" skekSo shoved skekTek aside, managing enough force to make him stumble. He stormed to the stores of essence and threw the doors open. His beak fell and he stepped back. Only rows and rows of empty vials occupied the shelves. He stepped back and shot a glare at skekTek. "You conspirator…" Heaving, he drew closer, eyes glowing as the darkening. "Where is the rest?"

skekTek shrank back, raising his arms. "T-that's what I was trying to tell you...the Garthim-Master has exhausted all known factions of the rebellion...there is no more!"

"Impossible." skekSo stormed through the laboratory. He threw open every cabinet, drawer, and stripped the shelves bare. He tore at the framework of the machines until they were nothing but metal skeletons and sparking wires. He even fell to his hands and knees, crawling to look beneath tables and pull back rugs. When he had scoured every inch of skekTek's lab, he was hyperventilating, shaking.

"Sire…" skekTek stepped forward but recoiled when skekSo shot a glare.

Slowly, skekSo rose. He breathed deeply and spoke evenly once more. "See to the General," he said. "Surely we've overlooked a few survivors."

skekTek bowed deeply. "As you command, sire."

Silent, skekSo leaned against his scepter. He limped as he departed the lab.


	30. A Door Opens

Ordon held his breath as the door opened. His son was nowhere to be found, gone since the accusations. All the more suspicious. He'd turned to every guard, every palace servant, even the podlings who tended the gardens. None had seen Rian since the incident, when the lords had announced Mira's murder, one so brutal that they dare not show the body.

The gelfling guards had mourned and wept for their fallen comrade, but Ordon pressed forward. To request an audience before the Emperor on such short notice was unheard of, a taboo, but Ordon insisted. Though his fellow gelfling advised him against it, he walked through the throne room and bowed before the Emperor.


	31. The Next Best Thing

skekTek brandished a vial of essence for skekSo. 

"For you, my Emperor!" He bowed deeply as skekSo snatched the vial.

It was only half-full and lacked the magnificent glow the gelfling produced. The contents were clouded and a murky brown, much like broth. Nonetheless, skekSo guzzled it without hesitation. It lacked any flavor, stale-tasting though it had been freshly extracted from skekTek's latest specimen.

"Well?" skekTek leaned forward, his mechanical eye shining.

skekSo breathed deeply. An ache in his knee dissipated, his fingers loosened, and his eyelids no longer so heavy. However, the concoction lacked the electrifying surge of the gelfling, only an airy lightness that eased his age, massaged it rather than eliminated it. He looked to the podling strapped in the chair. Its short limbs barely fit into the restraints and it had been drained of all color, though not fully eradicated as the gelfling when in contact with the crystal: an anomaly skekTek still mulled over.

"It will do." skekSo handed over the vial. "For now."


	32. Humility

The skeksis take turns filing into his chambers. They gawk and snicker, some daring to gossip within his sight. They count aloud the days and wonder if there will be a next before going to gorge on his share at the nightly feast.

He can hear their laughter above him, cheering, scarfing down their food like animals. No longer can he eat with them. He must rely on skekAyuk to spoonfeed him broth before the night is through, but sometimes he forgets and skekSo lies awake with hunger pains. If he's lucky, skekAyuk will stumble in the following morning with a fresh serving, but oftentimes skekSo must wait until the following night's dinner.

Occasionally, skekZok will see to him, chiding skekAyuk and the others for their carelessness, but more often than not, he only circles the bed, muttering prayers, before departing.

skekSo can only watch, heaving as he tries to send his silent contempt to the skeksis who dare trespass his chambers. When free of their leering, he spends his hours rolling languidly from the silk pillows to the satin. Each movement tangles him further into the bedsheets and he can never unfurl himself, paralyzed until some skeksis takes pity, usually skekSil who smirks as he aids him, commenting on what an honor it is to serve the Emperor.

Yet he eyes the scepter. He sits and waits, watches as skekSo's eyes close, his whimper oozing into his dreams.

But even in sleep, skekSo's fingers gnarl around the scepter.


	33. Wondrous

skekGra ran his talons along the end of the puppet urGoh had crafted in his likeness. It matched him perfectly: the shape of his beak, the paint along his forehead, and even the layers of his ensemble. He had used pieces of fine fabric from travelling Dousan merchants, even when skekGra insisted such material a frivolous waste when rags and older cloth should be recycled for such an "impractical purpose."

Nonetheless, urGoh made the puppet through skekGra's complaints and grievances, eventually forcing it into his hands. "For you…"

No skeksis nor gelfling had ever offered such a hand-crafted piece, one so personal, attended to so delicately. Celebrations and feasts of the past paled in comparison.


	34. Misunderstanding

Brea pouted. She never understood why Seladon never played with her. Tavra would always join her in games of pretend, humor her imaginary dance parties, and fetch her stories from the top shelf. They'd always huddle under the blanket and giggle through stories placed out of their reach, stumbling through long words and sounding them out together.

But never Seladon. 

Seladon always chided their "tomfoolery". She'd demand they return the book to the librarian as he would scurry through the palace in a panic if even a single text was out of place. Sometimes she'd tell him herself and lecture Tavra and Brea about responsibility and how all things must be accounted for. 

Brea always whined throughout her scolding. Again, she'd pester Seladon to play, join their foolishness, but Seladon always shook her head and walked away.

Brea never thought to ask why.


	35. The Whole Truth

skekOk tore out another page of an old history tome. He balled it up and threw it on a growing pile of other aged, yellow sheets. They'd be burned later but only after he'd triple checked every volume of that trine. For the gruenaks had no further use in Thra's timeline. They'd proved disobedient and rowdy. Their territory offered little in way of useful resources. Nothing worth noting.

Another page gone.

Their extermination wasn't even worth recording. It was little more than a passing errand for skekGra and his forces. A pitiful excuse of a rebellion.

The pile rose to skekOk's ankles. 

He considered writing of their disobedience, as a lesson for Thra's kind, but such teachings would waste precious ink. Their barren lands would serve well enough to teach the lesser beings of skeksis power. Never again would anyone step foot in their lands. For doing so would be punishable by exile, and no gelfling would dare risk ostracizing their clans, or worse, displeasing the lords.

All skekOk had to do was erase the evidence. He'd later replace the torn pages with tales of skeksis conquest and heroism.


	36. Final Sacrifice

urVa's vision blurred as he plummeted. At first, due the speed he fell, but then something twinkled in the corner of his eye. It resembled a shining star, like those that carpeted Thra's sky come nightfall, but the suns shone too bright. The stars should be drowned out by the intense rays at this hour. Then another twinkle, now in the center of his sight. Several more appeared, sprinkling his vision. Each seemed to chip away the pain plaguing his limbs and still-fresh wounds until he felt nothing. He couldn't see past the sparkles now. He smiled all the same.


	37. Hammer and Nail

The hammer struck the nail. Its ringing echoed through the abode.

skekGra froze. It rang the same as his head when the skeksis delivered the final strike.

Another ring.

urGoh had spent much of the morning making repairs to their shoddy roof. On the rare occasion rain passed through the Crystal Desert, it poured with a vengeance, soaking their belongings and soiling their reserves.

skekGra crumpled.

Another ring.

He covered his ears, but urGoh's voice broke through.

"skek….Gra….would you….pass….me…..a…." urGoh trailed off as he laid sights on skekGra. The nail shone in the suns' rays. urGoh looked at his hammer and frowned. "Oh…" He set it down. Slowly, he ambled down from the rafters, his tail dragging behind him as an anchor until he came to skekGra's side. "So...rry…" He put a hand on skekGra's shoulders as he shook. They remained that way for a long time.


	38. Warmth

skekGra shivered in the desert winds. They cut through what little remained of his robes, chilling him to the bone. "H-how c-c-can it b-b-be this cold in a d-d-d-desert?" skekGra asked through clattering teeth. He curled further into himself, bracing against another gust.

urGoh said nothing as he ambled over. He wrapped his arms around skekGra and pulled him close. His tail rested upon skekGra's, warming it.

Slowly, skekGra's chattering stopped and he settled. He huddled deeper into urGoh's warmth, nuzzling into his thick mane.

"Thank you," he choked out. The words were still so foreign. 

urGoh held him all the same.


	39. Potential

Hup retrieved his spoon from the puddle of mud. He had fallen to a spitter yet again. The creatures always disarmed him before he could get a hit in and scurried away into the wilderness. He'd slung his share of broken arms and sprained ankles due to their strength and speed. Even now, he groaned from a pain in his gut where the creature had trampled over him. Nonetheless, he smiled. For the first time, he parried the creature before falling. Next time, he would land his first hit, on a paladin's honor.


	40. Wholeness (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another repeat I did as a little challenge to try something new with the same prompt!

The skeksis never acted as a whole. No matter skekSo's commands or threats, no matter how many punishments he dished out, no matter the cost, he could not rein the skeksis in. They kept to the shadows and pushed their agendas. No matter how unambitious and lowly, each skeksis operated under ulterior motives. skekSo had warned them such scheming would destroy them from the inside, but they held strong to their petty squabbles, forcing skekSo to clean their messes and rebuild.

He groaned as he rubbed his temple. He recalled a time of peace and order, when each subject acted as a greater part of a whole. His original form almost came to mind before he shook his head.


	41. The Rules of the Game

skekSil hung his head low when skekSo passed. He said "yes" and "no" as skekSo commanded and always without question. He waited for the opportune time to feed his thoughts to skekSo, but never a moment sooner. Never had he faced punishment at skekSo's will. Rather, skekSo rewarded his loyalty with a place at his right hand side. For such, skekSil thanked him profusely, bowing deeply and singing skekSo's praises until he dismissed him.

Not once did he tear his gaze away from the scepter.


	42. Growth

Little grew in the Crystal Desert. Flowers shrivelled beneath the blazing suns, roots dried up, and trees withered in the dry season. Nonetheless, skekGra kept a constant vigil over his mushroom garden. He shaded them, adjusting the tarp so it followed the shifting sunlight. Every day and night, he scoured water from the distant wells to feed them, careful not to drown them. The soil would still crack by dawn.

"It's not your fault…" urGoh said one day, patting his shoulder. "Nothing grows here."

"Pah!" skekGra shuffled off. "I'll show you!"

He doubled his attentions to the garden. Week after week, he observed the soil, making sure it never dried. He even slept shorter spans to keep up watering the dirt more frequently.

urGoh shook his head, but said nothing more, sleeping through the nights until the third sun rose.

Then, he awoke to skekGra's shrieking. As fast as his heavy limbs and tail allowed, urGoh rose, ambling over to the source. "What...happened….?" He was about to ask if skekGra was hurt when he laid eyes on the soil.

Three little mushrooms poked through.

"What did I tell you!?" skekGra cackled. "I told you I'd make something grow in this blasted desert! You didn't listen, but look who's laughing now! I'm gonna have all the mushroom salads I can possibly want and don't think I'm going to be sharing!"

urGoh smiled. "Bra...vo…"


	43. Out of Breath

skekMal had chased the creature for days, through sweltering deserts, untamed forests, and blustering storms. It allowed him no rest, flying even into the nights. It evaded his traps, dodged his spears, and outmatched him at every pace. Only through stamina and will could skekMal rival it.

He pressed forward as his eyes weighed heavy, collecting droppings, following the wind, and keeping at the beast's trail. For days, he fought sleep, limbs dragging and slowing his gait. Still he lingered and watched as the creature sought respite. It landed in the canopy of the Endless Forest, unaware of his presence.

Though struggling to keep his eyes open, skekMal raised his sword and lunged forward. He skewered the creature's throat, blood spilling over his mask. It let out a final cry and fell through the trees, landing far below. 

skekMal followed and stood above the creature. Struggling for breath, he pulled the creature's wing and cut through.


	44. Waves

skekSa held steady as the Vassa rolled with the waves. The storm had been building for the past hour and she'd passed port in favor of speed. Heavy rains soaked her feathers and the winds nearly carried her hat away, but skekSa remained upright. She kept her eyes open against the storm and gripped the wheel tightly. "We've made it through worse than this!" she shouted at her Vassa as another wave crashed against them. It rocked skekSa but she stayed standing and inhaled the misty air. The winds howled in her ears and the rain escalated into sleet. Nonetheless, she grinned as she turned the wheel against the current.


End file.
